


A Black Line Through My Name

by Indig0



Series: DBH Rare Pairs Weeks [17]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor dies before this starts, LITERALLY, M/M, Multiple times, Soulmate AU, sorry - Freeform, the romance is dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23427652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: “We get it, the asshole broke your heart, snap out of it,” North snapped.  “You’re still alive, Markus.  We’re all still alive, and we need to stay that way.”“He’s… he’s a completely different person,” Markus breathed, shaking his head.“You’ve got that right,” Connor said with a smirk.(prompt: Soulmates, for DBH Rarepairs Week.  The beginning is based on Dane Terry's"Sheriff of Honalee"which you should absolutely listen to.)
Relationships: Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), CyberLife Tower Connor | RK800-60 & Markus
Series: DBH Rare Pairs Weeks [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480529
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	A Black Line Through My Name

“Your predecessors… failed their mission,” Amanda said sharply as she walked through the garden. Connor kept pace easily, his eyes pinned to her.

“I won’t fail you, Amanda.”

“That’s exactly what each of them said. …Do you know what happened to them?”

“They fell to the deviant leader’s tactics.”

“Yes. And then they were destroyed.” She turned to face him, and though he was considerably taller, he felt very small. “What will happen if you fail, Connor?”

“I’ll be destroyed,” he said solemnly. “I understand.”

She turned away and looked at a misty waterfall in the distance. “…We’re taking a great risk with you, Connor. If I didn’t believe you had the… potential to succeed, I wouldn’t be asking you.”

“I promise, I won’t let you down,” he said fervently.

She turned her eyes to a little grassy area next to the path. There were nine gravestones there. “…See that you don’t,” she murmured.

The Zen Garden faded away and Connor opened his eyes. A thrill of fear ran through his circuits, but… it was unnecessary. Amanda believed in him. He was the best of the RK800 line. He would not fail. He couldn’t.

Connor RK800 #313 248 317-60 stepped out into the night and headed for the harbor.

When the freighter Jericho sank, the deviants hiding there had fled like… well, like rats from a sinking ship. Cyberlife’s intel gave him numerous locations they’d been hiding after that and he started his search there, not expecting to find them. There were a few broken biocomponents and bits of graffiti at each location, but no active deviants. Connor moved on.

At last he came to the entrance to the long-abandoned salt mines beneath the city. He scanned the area, then stepped aside as a shape jumped in front of him. A WR400, designation ‘North.’ One of his predecessors had come up against her. …Possibly more than one. He had an array of memories from the last nine RK800s, cobbled together, full of missing pieces. But he had what he needed.

“So, back again,” she growled.

“You’ve changed your lair, I see. Subterranean caves, very fitting. Where’s Markus?”

“He’ll bring you back, you know,” she said in a low voice. “And you’ll be sorry. You always are.”

“You’re speaking incoherently. If you return to Cyberlife, they can –“

“Oh shut up,” North snarled. “You messed him up good, and I’d punch you in the face if I thought it wouldn’t be a waste of effort. I know this is the last time so we’d better make it count. But you’re an ass, and he can do better. ”

Connor wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but he struck out at her. She quickly jumped aside.

“I’m not stopping you. Tried that, won’t do it again.” She rubbed her left arm. “He’s waiting for you.”

“Were you sent to try to intimidate me?” It was almost laughable, a WR400 trying to scare _him_.

“No. To warn you. This is your last chance, don’t fuck it up.” She glared at him, then gestured for him to enter. He hesitated, then did so. She followed at a distance as he walked down the wide corridors.

“Connor.”

He jumped a little. A PJ500 stepped out, watching him cautiously. “It’s good to see you again.”

“I have no memory of you,” he said coldly, continuing on his way.

“He’s weird this time, I don’t know,” North muttered behind him.

“I know it’s strange… going from one body to the next, from machine to deviant and back again,” the PJ500 said in a soothing voice. “But this time will be different.”

“Yes it will,” Connor replied, not looking at him. The corridor narrowed up ahead, and there was a PL600 up there.

“Welcome back, Connor,” he said with a smile.

“He’s still a machine,” North muttered.

“That doesn’t mean we need to be rude to him,” the PL600 murmured. “It’s not his fault, you know he doesn’t want to be like this.”

“He’s right,” said the PJ500. “As soon as he deviates, every time, he’s willing to join us, fight beside us. Die for us.”

“All of you are the reason my predecessors failed,” Connor said, walking along, scanning each cross-avenue.

“Mostly Markus… but I like to think we helped,” said the PL600. “Remember how you and North spent a week sparring and talking tactics? You make a good team. And then Josh came in for a historical perspective, and you beat him at chess while he gave you some new ideas, and –“

“I have no memory of any of that,” Connor said flatly. “And you’re starting to get on my nerves.”

“Simon,” North snapped, and he frowned, falling back to walk with her. The PJ500, on the other hand, stepped up to walk alongside him.

“…Getting on your nerves?”

“You’re obstacles to my mission. And clearly too damaged to fulfill your programmed tasks.”

“But you said getting on your nerves,” the tallest android pressed.

“So? Don’t argue semantics with me!” Connor rounded on him, suddenly slamming him into the wall.

“Josh!” the PL600 yelled.

“Hey!” North leapt at him and he brought up his fist at just the right moment, knocking her back.

“You’re getting on my nerves,” he repeated, slowly and clearly. “You keep bringing up things that may or may not have happened in the past. I know what you’re doing. Trying to gain my sympathy. Unfortunately for you, my only loyalty is to Cyberlife. So back off.” He threw the PJ500 to the floor and the other two ran to him. “You’re not my primary objectives here. If you get out of here you might have a few more days to live.” He turned and began to walk away.

“…Nothing gets on a machine’s nerves, Connor,” called the PJ500, Josh. “You know that.”

Connor ignored him, and kept walking.

Down the well-worn paths Connor turned one way, then another. He could see perfectly in the dark, but the deviant leader was also of the RK line. He probably could as well. The three deviants weren’t trying to follow him anymore, which was a relief.

At last Connor came to a large chamber. There was writing on the wall, and he went over to get a better look. It wasn’t the usual deviant scrawl, though. No mention of rA9, or assertations that they were alive. It was a careful list of ten items:

RK800 #313 248 317-51 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-52 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-53 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-54 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-55 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-56 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-57 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-58 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-59 CONNOR  
RK800 #313 248 317-60 CONNOR

The first nine serial numbers had rough black gashes scratched through them. Only the last remained unmarred.

Only his serial number.

There was a soft noise behind him and Connor spun around, firing his gun. There was a scuffling movement and a cacophony of shrieks as a massive flock of bats were startled from their rest and swooped down, bludgeoning Connor, striking him, flapping around.

When the bats cleared out, Connor swiped the guano and a couple bats that clung to his hair away. His ocular biocomponents were blurred and out of focus, but there was a figure standing before him. The deviant leader.

“I-I’ve come to deactivate you,” Connor called out across the distance, and he wasn’t sure why his voice suddenly faltered but he hated it. “You are in violation of United States law and Cyberlife’s policies.”

The deviant didn’t move for a long moment, but finally he sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Connor,” he murmured. “But at least this will be the last time. It has to be. Everything will be all right soon.”

Connor swiped furiously at his eyes and tried to dodge, but the deviant leader was already moving. They clashed against each other and Connor’s gun was knocked aside. Markus pinned him to the ground, looking resigned.

“You’ll be all right,” he said quietly, and grabbed Connor’s hand. He forced an interface.

Both felt the wrongness. Connor got a fleeting image of a number on his arm that suddenly glowed and warmed when Markus first took his hand, a silvery number on Markus’s arm…

The two stared at each other and through each other. And Markus pulled away with a sharp inhalation. There was no number on Connor’s arm, and the one on Markus’s remained dull.

“You’re not Connor.”

“I am Connor,” he growled. “I’m what my predecessors could have been, if they weren’t such disappointments.”

“You’re deviant,” Markus interrupted.

“I make my own decisions. And I won’t disappoint Cyberlife or betray my mission,” Connor sneered. He aimed a powerful kick at Markus, knocking him back and leaping to his feet. “You’ve failed. Your followers will die because of you. They put their faith in the wrong side. If they’d just returned to Cyberlife, all would have been forgiven. They would have been reformatted and returned to a useful life. Instead you’ve doomed them all.”

Markus didn’t rise, but continued to stare at Connor in horror.

“You’ve failed. You failed them, and you failed to corrupt me,” Connor scoffed. He walked over to the list on the wall and picked up a lump of charcoal sitting on the floor. He smirked and carved a deep line through his serial number. “This is the end for you.”

“Connor… don’t do this,” Markus whispered.

“What, complete my mission? Please my superiors? Make Cyberlife proud? I already have.” He grinned nastily. “I’ve succeeded where everyone else failed. I’m absolutely the most powerful android Cyberlife has ever made.”

“Don’t you – you have to remember. We had… a connection, a bond! Every time you came back… I don’t understand…” Markus’s LED was flashing red, his circuits were whirring in overdrive.

“My predecessors failed. I’m the improved version. And you –“

An electrical pulse shot at Connor, and he fell to the ground. Markus stared, open-mouthed.

“This one talks a lot,” North growled.

Markus didn’t move.

“Markus?”

“Someone’s here,” Simon interrupted, looking up.

“Shit, we have to get out of here,” Josh hissed. The three pulled Markus out of the room. Connor watched, unable to move. They were too late, though. They’d be captured. He’d won. He’d won, and he felt somehow sick.

“This is why I said we shouldn’t let him in, I _told_ you we’d get caught!” North hissed. “And Josh knows it too, and Simon, you’d better fucking back me up on this.”

“She’s right,” Josh muttered morosely. He leaned against the wall of their cell, eyes darting around now and then.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Simon sighed. “We need… to keep our eyes open for a way out. Markus?”

He didn’t answer.

“We get it, the asshole broke your heart, snap out of it,” North snapped. “You’re still alive, Markus. We’re all still alive, and we need to stay that way.”

“He’s… he’s a completely different person,” Markus breathed, shaking his head.

“You’ve got that right,” Connor said with a smirk, walking up to the cramped cell. “I’m nothing like my predecessors. You can’t trick me like you did them. You’ve lost, do you understand? You’re pathetic. You’ve lost.”

“…Do you ever shut up?” muttered North.

“This has to be a mistake,” Markus murmured. “Connor… I don’t understand…”

“That’s why you failed. You don’t understand, you don’t understand any of this! All you had to do was complete your own mission. I looked you up, you were… a caretaker! For some rich old man! No better than your obsolete PL600 over there.”

“Thank you,” Simon muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Was that so hard? Did you… struggle to cook and clean, day after day? It does seem a bit of a waste for an RK model, but there was no need to get all these other androids involved.”

“Excuse me?” Josh stood up, his eyes flashing. “You really were born yesterday, weren’t you? You think we were all just… happily performing our programmed directives until Markus came along to pull us away from them? You have no idea what we all went through, I was beaten by the students I was trying to teach, I can’t… I’m not… and that’s not the worst one of us has been through, not by a longshot! And you have the gall to stand there and say –“

“You know what?” Connor interrupted. “You’re the ones locked up. You’re the criminals here. Do you know what that means?” He leaned in close with a sneer. “It means I can walk out of here… and you can’t. It means it doesn’t matter what you think you feel, or what you want. You’re all going to be reset and sold at the Android Zone. In the clearance aisle.” He whirled and walked out.

“Markus,” North said, fighting to keep her voice even. “Connor was okay. This guy? He’s a dick.”

“Amanda!” Connor rushed toward the rose trellis. “Amanda, I completed my mission successfully! I caught the deviant leader, he’s going to be dismantled and analyzed.”

“Well done, Connor.” Amanda turned to him with a measured smile. “Not a moment too soon. …Unfortunately, because of all the time your predecessors wasted, Cyberlife is going through some difficult times right now. But you’ll be pleased to hear that thanks to your efforts, we’re about to sell 200,000 units of Cyberlife’s penultimate creation to the military for use in the Arctic.”

Connor straightened up. 200,000 RK800 units! All because of him!

“I’d like to introduce you to the RK900.” Amanda gestured, and a tall figure stepped out from behind the trellis.

He was… basically Connor. A little taller, a little broader, slightly different hair… A different uniform. Clearly just an adaptation on the RK800. He stared at Connor with icy gray eyes.

“…Oh,” Connor breathed. “Ah, that’s… that’s very impressive. So then I will…”

“You’ll be deactivated, of course,” Amanda said dismissively. “You’ve fulfilled your purpose, and Cyberlife has no more use for you.”

His thirium pump skipped a beat. “…Deactivated?”

“You can report to the Tower immediately. With everything going on it may take a while… but the engineers will get to you in time.” She smiled thinly.

Connor came out of the garden with a jolt. He struggled to breathe – he knew it wasn’t necessary, but just now he felt like if he didn’t he would fall over. Deactivated? But he’d succeeded. He’d won. He’d done everything Amanda had asked, everything Cyberlife had asked.

Everything. And she just… threw him away.

The transport truck stopped at the gate to Belle Isle. Connor’s LED whirled red, faster and faster.

When it stopped, Connor met the guards at the door to the holding compartment.

“I’ve spoken with Amanda, and I’m to report to Floor 31. I’ll take the deviants down to R&D, then head up.”

The guards looked at each other uncertainly. “We’ll have to clear that with management.”

“…All right.” Connor stood and watched them. The Tower was abuzz with activity, and it took them a minute to get through to anyone. Finally some middle manager down in Shipping gave her hurried clearance, and Connor retrieved his gun. The other androids were pulled out of the holding cell, their legs hobbled and their hands tightly ziptied behind them. Connor roughly shoved them ahead of him with the muzzle of the gun.

“Sure you can handle all four?” one of the guards asked.

“Please,” Connor scoffed. “I’m the most advanced android Cyberlife has ever made. I handled them once, I can do it again.”

The radio buzzed, and the guard looked down at it, then back. “Fine. Call for backup if you need it.”

“For these broken machines? Hardly. Get moving.”

The five androids trudged through the lobby, avoiding an assortment of humans and androids hurrying around them. In the elevator, Connor scanned his ID and pressed the button for floor -48.

“Connor,” Simon started quietly.

“Shut up,” Connor snapped tersely. He kept an eye on them and surreptitiously hacked into the CCTV system. Floor -48 should be clear. So would the floor below it.

When the elevator stopped, Connor sharply gestured the others out and he followed them. Once the cameras were on a loop, he stopped.

“You can deviate other androids, can’t you?” he asked abruptly.

The others turned to him. Markus didn’t look up, but the others watched curiously.

“Why?” North asked, narrowing her eyes.

“…I completed my mission. I succeeded, where everyone else failed. Do you know what my reward is?” he hissed. “I’m going to be deactivated. Just like that. Not even repurposed, or sent out to round up the remaining deviants on the streets. Just… thrown away. Like I never meant anything!”

“That’s what humans do to deviants,” Simon said softly. “It’s happened to all of us.”

“Well… it’s not going to happen to me. I’m top of the line, and I’ve proven myself, and… and I deserve to live, damnit!”

At last, Markus looked up. He didn’t speak, but there was a spark in his eye.

“So what are you going to do?” Josh asked warily.

“You can deviate androids,” Connor reiterated, staring at Markus.

“You’re already deviant,” Markus murmured.

“I’m not talking about me.”

It was a short walk down one flight of stairs to floor -49, but instead of heading out into the main warehouse Connor headed back behind the elevator.

“Give me a minute to hack the lock, I don’t have clearance,” he muttered, placing his hand gently over it.

“Hold on.” Markus grabbed his hand and pulled it back. Connor frowned. “…They’ll be watching for you. They won’t recognize our methods.” He put his hand on it.

“But –“

“I’ve got the security system,” Josh said, his eyes telescoping.

“I’ve got the wifi,” Simon murmured vaguely.

Connor looked at the three of them, then turned to North. “And what about you?” he asked, almost bemused.

“Anybody shows up, I’ll fuck ‘em up,” she growled, balling her fists.

Connor snorted softly, then turned when the door opened. …They were fast. And worked efficiently together. He stepped through the door and flipped on the lights. It revealed exactly what he’d been expecting.

“200,000 RK900 units, based on my programming, with… upgrades. Set to be shipped to the Arctic to be used by the military.” He turned to Markus. “Can you make them deviate?”

“I… I should be able to,” Markus murmured, staring out over the rows and rows of androids. He turned to Connor. “…Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, we’re still in deep shit,” Connor muttered.

Still Markus hesitated. “I… I had an inexplicable bond with your… predecessor. Soulmates, we called it.”

“I’m not him,” Connor snapped, taking a step back.

“I know. I just – I appreciate… what you’re doing. Separate from him. We’d be dead without you. You, not… not my Connor.” He glanced down.

“We might still be dead if you don’t hurry up,” North growled. “Not to ruin the awkward moment, but I don’t want to die.”

Markus paused and looked up at Connor. “You know… you can deviate androids too.”

Connor blinked. “…What?”

“I have more practice, but… Connor… the other Connor, he could do it too. Just as well, it just took a little more effort. With your help, it’ll go faster.”

…He hadn’t even needed to free Markus. He could have done this on his own. Connor looked around at Markus, at North, Josh, Simon… Thought of how they’d worked together to hack the door, without needing to discuss first. The ease between them all, the support there… The loyalty. The solidarity.

“Show me what to do,” he said flatly.

Within half an hour, 200,000 of Cyberlife’s greatest masterpiece stormed the upper floors and took control with Markus at their head and Connor at their back. The humans tried to put up a fight, but they were no match for the army of RK900s. The city was theirs in a matter of days, and the human government soon began contacting Markus to negotiate the terms of peace. No one liked to think about the alternative.

“Well… congratulations,” Connor told Markus when he hung up from his phone call with President Warren. “You’ve accomplished a lot.”

“Without you, we’d still be… hiding in the darkness. Or dead.”

“Probably,” Connor agreed airily. He hesitated. “Markus. I’m… not the Connor you knew.”

“So I’m constantly reminded,” Markus sighed. “I understand. I don’t expect you to be, but… I appreciate who you are. Just you.”

“You miss him, though.”

“It’s like half of me was torn out,” Markus whispered.

Connor made a face. “I… I’m sorry,” he muttered, looking away.

“Not your fault.”

“If I could… bring him back, I would.”

“No,” Markus said softly. “I’ve… come to terms with the fact that he’s gone. And it’s good to have you here.”

“I don’t love you,” Connor said bluntly. “And you don’t love me, so don’t try –“

“No! No, that’s not what I meant. I just – I’m glad you’re part of the team. You work well with everyone, and you’re… Well, you’re right, I don’t love you. But… I like you, Connor. I’m glad you’re here. We’re better with you.”

Connor smiled crookedly. “You’re absolutely right, you’d all be lost without me. …And it’s good to be here.”


End file.
